Brathwaite Blitz Clinch World T20 for West Indies

Kolkata: Carlos Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes as West Indies scored 24 off the final over to beat England in an astonishing World Twenty20 final.

Brathwaite was the match-winner in the game and also flourished in the final as he hit the winning runs in the final over against England at the historic Eden Gardens Stadium on Sunday.

Braithwaite hit Ben Stokes in the final over for four sixes, thus sealing a thrilling win for the Windies, as they claimed their second title, and also became the first nation to win two World T20 titles.

Marlon Samuels declared man of the match for his unbeaten fifty.

Chasing 156, West Indies won by four wickets with two balls left. The dugout cleared, Brathwaite was mobbed by delirious team-mates, and the firecrackers went off. It was riveting cricket.

Reprising his match-winning role from the 2012 final in Colombo, but in the role of anchor and then late-overs hitter, Samuels finished the job after being given a massive on 27 when replays showed that an outer edge had not carried to Jos Buttler behind the stumps.

That England didn't throw in the towel added to this absolute sizzler of a final. Adil Rashid finished a very economical outing with the wicket of Dwayne Bravo and David Willey bounced out two wickets in the 16th over, but Braithwate - 34 not out off 10 balls in his first final - was simply outrageous.

All this came after West Indies lost their openers trying to launch Joe Root's offspin into the stands in the second over, while Lendl Simmons came the full spectrum, out first ball to Willey after defeating India with an unbeaten 82 in the semi-final.

More than four overs passed without a boundary. In the sixth over, bowled by Chris Jordan, Samuels hit three. You sensed something was brewing. From the other end came Liam Plunkett, England's quickest bowler and senior most player.

First ball after the Powerplay, Samuels was forced into an edge. Buttler took the catch, the umpire raised his finger, and Samuels walked off. But then the replay was called for, and on the TV flashed proof that the ball had died just before Buttler's glove.

Rashid's spell proved important at this stage. His first three overs produced only 13 runs, and targeting him at the back end was going to be crucial.

West Indies' fifty came up in 53 balls, and unusually for them that period contained only five boundaries.

After 12 overs, the equation was 89 to get with eight wickets in hand, with Dwayne Bravo on 11 off 19. The allrounder got a life when the substitute fielder Sam Billings slipped at deep square leg and let a top edge slip out, but it didn't cost much.

To Rashid's final delivery, Bravo heaved and top-edged to backward point. The legspinner bowled out with 1/23.

Earlier, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy made the right call and won the toss, as he elected to bat first, while he moved in with an unchanged squad from the semi-final win over India.

England skipper, Eoin Morgan too moved in with an unchanged squad, following the victory over New Zealand in the semi-final.

England posted a challenging total of 155 for the loss of nine wickets in 20 Overs, courtesy of a half-century from Joe Root, while Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite claimed three wickets each

Having slayed the giants of ICC T20 World Cup 2016 — India and New Zealand — in their respective semi-finals, West Indies and England clash in the final of the tournament at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday night.

For many in the cricket fraternity, neither West Indies nor England were among the favourites when the tournament began.

But both teams surprised with their distinct brands of cricket, setting themselves perfectly to have a crack at the World T20 trophy for the second time in their history.
Brief scores
England - 155 for 9 (Root 54, Buttler 36, Brathwaite 3-23, Bravo 3-37)West Indies - 161 for 6 (Samuels 85*, Brathwaite 34*, Willey 3-20)Result - West Indies won by 4 wickets MOM - Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

Having slayed the giants of ICC T20 World Cup 2016 -- India and New Zealand -- in their respective semi-finals, West Indies and England clash in the final of the tournament at the iconic Eden Gardens on Sunday.